Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has told World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez there is a long way for him to go before he can be talked about in the same breath as ‘champion’ Hugo Lloris.

The goalkeepers will face off on Sunday when Aston Villa visit Spurs in the Premier League, a fortnight on from their World Cup final battle.

It was Martinez who got the better of Lloris and France in a penalty shoot-out that saw Argentina crowned world champions on December 18 to cap a remarkable journey for the shot-stopper, who only made his national team debut last year following loan spells with Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham.

While Martinez is currently on top of the world, Conte has warned him that his real test begins now.

‘I think we lose time if we talk about Hugo because his career speaks for itself. We are talking about one of the best keepers in the world in the past 10 years,’ Conte said. ‘Martinez, first of all he won the World Cup and he was a protagonist in winning the most important trophy in the world. Then he has a long career to show he can be the best or one of the best keepers in the world, but now starts the difficult situation.

‘Now, you are high but you have to stay high and possibly to improve and show it wasn’t a one-off situation. Important players after a win, they build an important career and, starting with this win, then to win, win and improve their level.

‘We are talking about two important goalkeepers. Martinez is younger than Hugo. He played a really good World Cup, he made important saves.’